QUICK CONTACT

Where you'll find us

Joins us (2pm to 6pm) on the first and third Thursday of the month in The Levee for a "paddock to plate" experience at Maitland's Slow Food Earth Markets. June to December dates are published on this page. Alternatively, ask our stallholders...

Pre-purchase your pre-packed box of local produce and collect from Maitland's Earth Markets. Boxes must be pre-purchased through Try Bookings (the cost is $35 per box). From our Home page, click the Read More link to navigate to the Earth Markets...

The next general meeting is on 4 Sept. Our general meetings are held every second month with executive-only meetings held in the alternate months. For a full list of all scheduled meetings (general and committee meetings) in 2018 please see...

Do you want to help with drought-relief? Do you want to "feed the future" of Australian farming? Are you wondering what small (or large) thing you can do to help? Well - wonder no more! Here's what you can do...

Open to everyone! Canapés and a 2-course dinner. Come and celebrate with us on Sunday, 26 August at 6.00pm. This is a dinner featuring local seasonal food, accompanied by Macquariedale Organic Wines. We will be celebrating and sending off our four scholarship winners and...

What’s Up?

Feeding our Future

Do you want to help with drought-relief? Do you want to “feed the future” of Australian farming? Are you wondering what small (or large) thing you can do to help? Well – wonder no more! Here’s what you can do … (see full details here).

Supporting Buy a Bale

Slow Food Hunter Valley volunteers have been raising money to support the Buy a Bale Hunter Appeal for our local farmers. According to the Maitland Mercury “The Maitland Mercury, Newcastle Herald, Hunter Valley News and The Scone Advocate have joined forces with the charity Rural Aid and its Buy A Bale Campaign to help Hunter farmers as they fight to survive the dry conditions” (see full details here).

Pumpkin Word

Check out our Pumpkin World page. We are currently building a long list of pumpkins (many of which are grown around Maitland) and the qualities of those pumpkins. If you want to add to this page or send your special pumpkin recipe, feel free to email us (check our Contact Us page).

Join Us

Want to join us as a member, volunteer or become a friend on our mailing list? See our Membership page.

How Slow Food is Helping

In 2016 we rescued acres of pumpkins that were destined to be ploughed into the ground. The pumpkins were gathered by Slow Food Hunter Valley volunteers and sold via a pumpkin pop-up stall in the Levee in Maitland’s main street. The participation of our local farmers, the support of Maitland City Council, the reaction of the media and the amazing response of locals (far and wide) meant hundreds of tonnes of pumpkins did not go to waste. This proves that together we can fix our food system.

At Slow Food Hunter Valley – in just one year – we turned 704 kg of fresh food into nutritional meals for the local community centre. The food is distributed to locals who are finding it difficult to make ends meet. This process is made possible through donations from local farmers, home gardeners with excess produce, and Greenhills Fresh Grocer. As many as seventeen Slow Food Hunter Valley volunteers have helped with the preparation and cooking at the Reader’s Cafe in East Maitland.

To encourage farmers and chefs in and around the Hunter Valley to focus on – and work with – local, seasonal produce we offer a scholarship to Turin, Italy to attend the bi-annual Terra Madre (Mother Earth) event. In 2016 Tom Christie, a local small-scale farmer, was the winner of the inaugural scholarship. The experience provided Tom with exposure to a wealth of knowledge from farmers across the globe and enabled him to realise the potential of small-scale farming. This scholarship will be open again in 2018.

Slow Food Hunter Valley continues to support school gardens such as the Telarah Public School who runs a Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Program. The garden provides 130 children access a two-hour program each fortnight. As the program has matured, the teaching focus in the classes has widened to include applied learning in maths, science and English. It also engages parents who volunteer in the program and includes all student teachers who are rostered on for a turn in the garden.

Fresh food is still achievable even in remote outback communities. In Central Australia, Slow Food Hunter Valley is partnering with Watarrka Foundation and working with local Indigenous leaders and schools to grow fresh food. The supplies fresh produce to locals who would otherwise have to travel up to 600km (one-way) to buy what can be grown in their own back yard. Our Fresh Food in Remote Communities project has been ongoing for three years.

Slow Food Hunter Valley is made up of everyday people who, together, realise they can do a lot of great things that make a difference. And from time-to-time, a we even do a few extraordinary things. You too can make a difference. In fact, everyone can make a difference. Your contribution, regardless of how large or small, helps. So become a member, volunteer, come to a Talking Dinners event, attend our meetings, or make a donation. Whatever you can do, it all makes a difference.

Our donors / supporters

Our work is made possible because of the generosity of our donors / supporters, our members and friends, and volunteers from the community.

For this reason we would like to acknowledge Maitland City Council, Lake Macquarie City Council, Our Neighbourhood Community Grants, Margaret Sivyer, Readers café and Larder, and Seraphine.

Please see our donors/supporters page for a full list.

We would also like to thank all members and friends who have volunteered their time to help redistribute food to those who are in need, raise funds to help local farmers, increase awareness of the issues associated with our current food system, and much more.

Our work is made possible because together we are able to make a difference.

The Tocal Field Days were held on May 5, 6 and 7 this year. Slow Food Hunter Valley was engaged to look after...

Section 5

There are not found "WHAT OTHER SAYS";

Section 6

Acknowledegment of Place

Slow Food Hunter Valley acknowledges that we live and work on the lands of the Wannaruah, Worimi & Awabakal people, who cared for and shared the abundance of our Mother Earth, sustainably, for thousands of years. They inspire us in our vision of good, clean, fair food for all.

We wish to pay our respects to their Elders past, present, and emerging and we honour the important role Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people continue to play within Australia and the Slow Food community.